Moldova could put Moldovagaz under external management if Gazprom does not approve candidate for company chief
The supervisory board of Moldovagaz plans to approve the management board and its chairman at a meeting on September 25, Sergiu Tofilat, a member of the company's supervisory board, said on the Jurnal-TV channel on Friday.
He said the Moldovan Energy Ministry had nominated Dorin Junghietu, who was selected competitively, for chairman of the management board. He is a manager at the SICIM Kazakhstan oil and gas company.
The current chairman, Vadim Ceban, was nominated for deputy chairman of the management board, and Eduard Calancea and Radu Mandraburca for the positions of management board members.
Tofilat said Junghietu's nomination had not been cleared with Russia's Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP), but that he hoped all candidates proposed by Moldova would be approved. "I think Gazprom won't do anything to cause problems with appointing the head of Moldovagaz," he said.
But he said Moldova had a "backup option" if Gazprom representatives did not back Junghietu. "If anything happens, we will put Moldovagaz under external management, as in the banking system," but he said the Moldovan parliament would have to pass new legislation for this.
The company's charter states that the management board has nine members, five of them nominated by Gazprom and four by Moldova. The chairman of the management board is nominated by the Moldovan government and approved by the supervisory board, where Gazprom has the majority of votes.
The management board is a collegiate executive body, appointed by the main shareholders for a term of three years.
Vadim Ceban has been chairman of the management board since September 2019. His term was last extended in June 2021.
Moldovagaz is the biggest energy company in Moldova and one of its biggest taxpayers. The company, together with its subsidiaries, provides services to 740,000 customers in Moldova, and also organizes natural gas transit to the Balkans.
Gazprom owns 50% plus one share, the Moldovan government has 35.33%, Transdniestria 13.44% and legal entities and individuals 1.23%. The Transdniestria region's shares are under Gazprom's trusteeship.
